X t two-wheeled vehicle



(No Model.)

\ 0. WILLSON. TWO WHEELED VEHICLE. No. 272,928. Patented Peb.27,1883.

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OSBORN \VILLSON, OF AURORA, ILLINOIS.

TWO-WHEELED VEHICLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 272,928, dated February 27, 1883.

Applicationfiled October 25, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Osnonn WILLsON, of Aurora, in the county of Kane and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Road-Carts; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to certain specialties of construction, hereinafter set forth, having for their objects a lessening of what is called the horse motion of the cart, and also an increase of comfort in riding; and my improve ments have reference to the manner of adjustably supporting the body, to a special flexible support for the springs, to a novel means for attaching the shafts or pole, to a means for limiting and easing the upward movement and rebound of the body, to a novel construction of an easy back, and to other details hereinafter stated.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a road-cart embodying my improvements; Fig. 2, a vertical longitudinal section of the same, with a few differences in the arrangement of the parts; Fig. 3, a similar system of springs more clearly displayed; Figs. 4, 5, and 6, details with slight variations; Fig. 7, a fragmentary side view; and Fig. 8, a fragmentary top view of the seat, showing how the body is adjustable.

The body A may be clipped or fastened-by four bolts to a spring-bar, (0 as is usually done on buggies; but these bolts are movable, and adjustable in any appropriate slots cut in the body-frame under the cushion or seat, and the body has no support either from the shafts or from the cross-bar, but is upheld and supported by the springs alone.

The side springs, B, which may be elliptic, platform, or of other well-known kind, as preferred, do not rest upon the shafts 0, nor upon the axle D, but are severally secured to and rest'upon a self-adjusting flexible device, consisting of an arched wooden or steel piece or rocker, 1, which is clipped to the springs,

and is fastened adjustably to a thin flexible steel strip, E, and at or about its center, as shown. This rocker lies along this thin piece of steel, coming to its support in severe trial; and it may be flexible or rigid, but preferably flexible. The thin piece or strip E connects both ends ofa rigid orbow-shaped sh 0e or piece, F, so that this strip E is the chord of an are formed by F, and it describes a wave-linewhenever the thills are moved up and down by the trot or movement of the horse. This device is rendered self-adj usting by reason of the thickness, length, and flexibility of the rocker, as well as by the rigidity of the shoe and the flexibility of the steel strip E. The shoe or piece F is clipped to the axle D. By thus swinging the body free from or independently of the shafts, or of the crossbar which connects the shafts, much of what is known as the horse motion, or disagreeable jerking or swaying of the body to and fro, is avoided, and by simply loosening the bolts :12, which connect the body with the springbar or bars, and then moving the belts in their slots 3 the body may be moved forward or backward to any desired position, thus quickly adjusting at will the weight of the shafts upon .the horse, as circumstances or theload may require, and without any need of altering the point of connection of the baror bars a toward or from the ends of the springs, for it will be evident that if the bars were shifted on the springs, instead of shifting the body on the bars, the efficiency and durability of the springs would not only be impaired and their integrityendangered, but that the body must also in such case rest on an incline of the springs, and necessarily tilt either forward or backward in proportion to the distance to which the bars had been adjusted or shifted. Moreover, if the bars were shifted on the springs and not secured at the central or highest parts of the springs, but nearer to one end than to the other, the leverage would be unequal, and that end of the spring which for the time being should thus be nearest to the bar would be thrown down and the other end of'the spring would be thrown up, so that be sides tilting the body the strain would tend to break off the springs. Such a construction would necessitate some sort of device to pretended use of road-carts.

vent the extremity ofthe springs being unduly borne downward or upward, and some device to support the front part of the body.

When the body, as has been customary, is directlyconnected to the front cross-bar, or to the sh afts ata point forward of the axle, it is impossible to avoid givinga constant horse motion to the body and to the occupant of the vehicle, and this objectionable motion has been the most serious obstacle in the way of a more ex- In my construction, however, the only point of connection of the cart-body is directly above the axle, the latter extending straight across beneath the body, and the provision for shifting the body forward or backward affords a means for prom pt adjustment to adapt to the strength or height of the horse the travel up or down hills, or the weight or disposition of the load and in aid of this desirable improvement in the motion the springs and their above-described flexible support contribute materially, for it will be seen that the up-and-down motion of the horse, instead of being transmitted to the cartbody, simply produces slight reverse curves in the straight part or strip E of the springsupport, and almost, if not entirely, does away with or prevents oscillation of such body, and the rocker acts as a support to and adjuster of the movement of this thin strip of steel across the shoe or arch.

A leather or other strap, 2, may loosely connect the cross-bar to apoint under the dashboard, merely to prevent strain on the springs in getting in and out of the cart. The inner wood ends of the shafts may preferably serve instead of the rocker 1, (see Fig. 5,) the other devices in such case remaining the same 5' but; if desired, the shafts (or a pole, when a pole is used) may be flexibly connected to the shafts of the vehicle (see Figs. 1 and 3, 4) by means of adjustable flat springs 3, and the extremities of these springs 3 may be either fastened severally to the metal strips E, and thus serve instead of the rocker 1, or they may be connected either to the upper or to the lower side of the axle, (see Figs. 1, 3, 4;) but wherever connected I prefer to provide them with yielding forks or guards 4 1, made of flat pieces of steel, placed one above and one below springs 3, to limit the up-and-down movement of said springs and prevent their being injured, especially when getting out of the vehicle. When the occupant is seated this flexible connection 3 will be about midway between these guards 4= 4.. These guards, as alsothe shafts, are adjustable independently or together toward or from the axle by simply loosening the nuts 6 of the clips 7, then shifting the position of the shafts and guards more or less forward or backward, and again tightening the clips. For alight load the connection 3 and the springpieces 4. 4 should be adjusted long, to project farther forward from the axle, and for a heavy load they may be adjusted to be short, and therefore more rigid.

The shafts may be of any desired shape.

The spring-bar a is preferably straight, as customary, being a bar of wood on which the body rests, and to which it is fastened.

The spring 13 may be secured to two bars, a a made of iron, (see Fig. 1.) these bars being adjustable on the body of the vehicle, as above described.

For the purpose of easing the rebound of the body, I place under or in the box 5, and beneath the seat, a spring, G, preferably coiled in part, and to this I connect a safety-strap, H, which is then secured to or passed around the axle. This spring may be of a V or other shape. Upon any sudden upward movement of the cart-body-as,forinstance,in going over an obstacle or acrossing-this spring and strap limit and ease and cushion the upward movement and rebound of the body, while at the same time serving to relieve the springs B and strips E and their connections from undue strain. This safety-strap connection may be applied to other vehicles than road-carts.

To render my road-cart still easier to the rider, 1 furnish the seat with an easy back of novel construction. The back-piece I is connected to the back of the seat by means of spiral or V-shaped springs K K. These springs have no hinge orjoint, but are positively and firmly fastened to the piece I and to the seat, the spiral or coil or \I-shaped portion being, as shown, between these parts I and K. The arms L of this easy back are pivoted or connected to the ends of the same, and their forward extremities are so bent and applied as to ride or play in slots in of plates a, secured to the seats. There are no springs beneath these plates, and consequently no'need of boxes/for their reception, nor of any other complex devices, for the reason that the springs, which may be of any desired number or strength required, afford all the yielding quality desired, as well as serving as standards or supports for the back-piece.

It will be seen that this construction is simple, inexpensive, and yet efficient, and that the arms and their extremities 0 need no adjusting devices of any sort. This easy back is adapted for any kind of vehicle.

I claim-- 1. In a road-cart or two-wheeled vehicle, a body which is not only supported solely by the springs which are sustained by the axle-tree, but also adjustable, substantially as shown and described, forward or backward upon the cross bar or bars which connect it to the springs without changing the position of such bar or bars relatively to the springs.

2. In combination with the vehicle-body,adjustable on its springs, as described, their flexible supports, placed between the body-springs and the axle-tree, consisting respectively of the shoe or piece F, its steel strip E, and the rocker 1,secured to such strip, as and for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination, with the shafts or pole and with the axle, of the flat steel'fiexlble piece 3, adjustably applied at or near its extremity to the axle or vehicle at a point underneath the main carriage-spring, the longitudinal adjustment of such flexible piece permitting the operative length of the spring to be shortened or extended at will, and for the purpose set forth.

4. In combination with the longitudinallyadjustable flexible piece 3 and with the vehiole, the yielding forks or guards 4 4,.substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In combination With the main spring B, the bow-shaped shoe F, and the flexible steel chord E, connecting its ends and supporting the main spring, the combination operating in the manner and for the purpose set forth.

6. In combination with the body and with the axle, a coil or other spring beneath the seat, and a safety-strap H, connecting such spring with the axle, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

7. The easy hack described,consistin g of the rigid side arms, L, hung or pivoted to the backpiece I, and free at their forward ends to play in slots m of simple plates n, in combination With the back -piece I and its supportingsprings K K, the latter being the only support employed for the easy back.

OSBORN WILLSON.

Witnesses:

O. A. GLIDDEN, M. A. Soornwonrm- 

